Sen. Cornyn Introduces National RTC Reciprocity Legislation

On Monday U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced national Right-to-Carry reciprocity legislation in the form of S. 446, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, and was quickly cheered by gun-rights supporters.

“The current patchwork of state and local gun laws is confusing and can cause the most conscientious and law-abiding gun owner to run afoul of the law when they are traveling or temporarily living away from home,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Sen. Cornyn’s legislation provides a much needed solution to a real problem for law-abiding gun owners.”

In a nutshell, S. 446 would allow individuals who possess concealed-carry permits from their home state or who are not prohibited from carrying concealed in their home state to exercise those rights in any other state that does not prohibit concealed carry.

“Law-abiding citizens should be able to exercise their fundamental right to self-defense while traveling across state lines,” Cox said. “We thank Sen. Cornyn for his leadership on this important issue.”

California Donut Shop Employee Shoots And Kills Robbery Suspect

You can bet dollars to donuts that a couple of thieves never expected to encounter any resistance in the dead of the night. However, shortly before 3 a.m. last Friday two would-be robbers smashed the front window of the Sugary Donut shop in Lancaster, Calif., ran past the counter and grabbed the cash register. They then discovered an employee was already in the shop—and that worker happened to be armed.

Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau told KABC-TV the employee “had been the victim of a robbery before, he had been robbed at a previous donut shop where he worked.” So, the employee grabbed his gun and shot at the suspects, fatally injuring one and sending the second intruder scrambling out the door without the cash register. Investigators say the deceased suspect was armed with a tire iron. The second man remains at large.

President Trump Signs Bill To Roll Back Obama SSA Gun Ban

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a bill that rolls back an Obama-era regulation that allowed the Social Security Administration (SSA) to infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of some Social Security recipients without due process of law.

The measure rescinded the Obama rule that empowered SSA bureaucrats to prohibit people who receive Social Security disability payments for a mental disability and have a representative payee handling their finances from purchasing or possessing a firearm. While many in the so-called “mainstream” media howled over the House and Senate vote saying it would give guns to the mentally ill, in truth the SSA rule was contrary to science, the Second Amendment and fundamental principles of due process; was unrelated to public safety; and cynically targeted a misunderstood, marginalized population.

Tucson Gun Destruction Case Goes To State Supreme Court

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich urged the state Supreme Court to declare that the city of Tucson’s practice of taking guns seized by police and destroying them rather than selling them to be illegal. Since 2013, more than 85 percent of the guns seized by police or voluntarily turned in by citizens have been destroyed. The NRA has said that this policy is designed to “deliberately suppress” legal gun ownership in the state.

Republican state Rep. Mark Finchem filed a complaint last October challenging the 2005 Tucson ordinance. But when city officials refused to change their policy, Brnovich sued. He cited a 2016 law that declares that local governments in conflict with state limits can do one of two things—repeal the ordinance or forfeit state aid.

Should the Arizona Supreme Court rule in Brnovich’s favor, the state would then be able to legally withhold tax money from Tucson.

Jon Stewart Tells Media, “You’ve Let Yourself Go”

Comedian Jon Stewart on Monday hammered members of the so-called “mainstream” media over their coverage of and interactions with President Donald Trump, according to a report at thehill.com.

Appearing with Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show,” Stewart said, “Media, it is time for you to get your groove back. You've let yourself go over the past few years.”

Not quite done, Stewart continued with his media bashing, saying Trump has given the media an “amazing opportunity for self-reflection and improvement. Instead of worrying whether Trump thinks you're un-American or if he thinks you're the enemy, or if he's being mean to you ... do something for yourself. Take up a hobby—I recommend journalism.”

While we’re no fans of Jon Stewart, we can at least say “amen” to that.

New York Daily News Wants Cops To Be “Smart” Gun’s Guinea Pigs

On Monday, a New York Daily News columnist claimed that the best way to get the public to adopt unproven “smart gun” technology is to force it first upon those with a critical need for a functioning firearm—police.

The author, Washington CeaseFire’s Ralph Fascitelli, builds his case on shaky ground. He claims gun designer Ernst Mauch “proved” smart gun technology with “rigorous field testing” in the harshest climates. But our November 2015 test of his Armatix iP1 showed it to be maddeningly unreliable.

Fascitelli cites a “John (sic) Hopkins” study that suggests 43 percent of gun owners are interested in smart guns. Perhaps, but they certainly weren’t interested in the iP1; not a single one was sold. The iP1 debacle cost Mauch his job.

Fascitelli says cops want smart guns, offering a comment from a former leader of the International Association of Chiefs of Police as proof. But the IACP has never represented frontline cops, who are loath to put their lives on the line to be gun control’s guinea pig.

Cops will adopt smart guns only when the technology proves itself reliable and affordable—not before, and certainly not to satisfy an agenda.